Many people think that they eat " healthy " when in my opinion, it is no where close to healthy.
I don't count drinking soda or eating sugary desserts as healthy.
Yet those on fad diets say they are eating healthy, when in fact they are just as unhealthy as they would be if they didn't go on the "diet".
All soda is unhealthy let alone diet soda. I know a woman who claims to be healthy, yet every other drink in her hand is a diet soda.
I also know a few other people who claim to be healthy, yet they eat sugary cupcakes as dessert, almost every night.
And yet again, a friend who has fast food 3 times a week, yet claims to be healthy.
I am not being hard on these people, for in my opinion they are only starting their journey. They are simply misguided in what the word " healthy" means.
Why are so many people misguided about health?
Because of fad diets, and marketing.
That diet cola or chicken sandwich are marketed to be "healthier alternatives" when in fact they are not much better than if these people ate some deep fried chicken and downed a regular soda.
So what is healthy to me?
I started my journey in January 2007, very misguided like many people. Instead of getting stuck in the fad diets though, I started my journey with small steps and changes.
These changes continued until where I am now.
I didn't get defensive about my flaws in my diet, only stayed optimistic as I knew that each month I was making a new goal to eat healthier & live healthier.
This year my most recent step was to remove ALL refined sugar ( white sugar, brown sugar, molasses, and evaporated cane juice) from my life. Every single drop. I instead chose honey and stevia ( primarily stevia) as my sweeteners for cooking/ baking.
I even went so far this year as to make my own ketchup with stevia instead of sugar. It was delicious, and tasted nearly identical to the one I had bought previously.
Junk food lurks in the most hidden places. Sugar and other additives can be found in simple things like ketchup, pasta sauce, yogurts ( sugar is a HUGE culprit here!), etc.
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| not my photo. image googled from around the web. |
"Healthy" to me is a CLEAN diet that consists of :
- veggies ( preferably organic)
- fruits ( preferably organic)
- lean protein ( chicken, lean turkey, fish)
- gluten free "grains" ( brown rice, quinoa)
- beans ( black beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, etc)
- nuts ( raw, unsalted)
- seeds ( unsalted, plain )
- (filtered) water
- green tea (100% tea, no additives)
- healthy oils ( coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil... none of that canola crap!)
- pure seasonings ( ex: oregano, basil, turmeric, etc)
- anything that grows in the ground on a tree or bush, any poultry or fish ( low mercury).
- additive free food
- preservative free food
- labels with 5 ingredients or less are preferable!
- only buy things with ingredients I can read
If it has chemicals or artificial colorings it is out! Artificial sweeteners and sugars are out.
Now for me personally I have gluten & casein allergies, meaning I cannot consume wheat, barley, rye, or oats ( not even gf ones for me), milk, cheese, or anything with gluten or dairy derivatives.
This does make it difficult when looking for stir fry sauces, and the like, so I have taken to making those as well.
My first attempt at making a stir fry with homemade sauce was a success :)
This is a HEALTHY diet to me.
There is no room for the traditional cupcake in this diet, nope, not even occasionally.
There is no room for chinese takeout. Msg is not allowed.
However, I have learned to make new versions of my favorite meals! 100% clean!!
You can do it too. It takes time, dedication, creativity, and perserverance.
It has taken me these last 5 years to get to where I am today, and it feels wonderful.
I am still not done making changes in my life.
You will see in my recipe section, various recipes from through out my journey, some of them from before I gave up sugar, and others from the new me. There should be recipes for people on various paths on their journey on my site. Take a look around!
I am planning on adding more clean foods content, and sharing more about my healthy journey with you!
Are you on a healthy journey?
What is "healthy" to you?
We all start somewhere, and I know there are people out there who probably eat even cleaner than what I described ( raw foodists for example...I applaud you by the way).
We are all on a journey, just don't forget to keep taking yours to the next level.
Be Happy Healthy and Strong,
See the disclaimer tab at the top of my page.
These are my own personal opinions and not intended as advice.
